Yoongi.

That's the one thought on your mind as you run, Taehyung running with you and actually keeping up. Hoseok is firing over his shoulder and covering your trio, all three of you hyperventilating from the exertions. The next corner comes up, you rounding it. And that's when a second thought hits your mind.

Jimin.

The two men you love the most in this world are separated from you. How the hell are you supposed to cope with that and comprehend what the fuck is going on right now? Who's following you? Security guards, you think. But think is the key word there. Did they track you down? Knowing your luck, they probably did, and that's why you're on the run right now. They were monitoring you and waiting for the best possible moment to strike. Well shit, they certainly did a good job. Now you're scared out of your mind and your two best - no actually, Ariel's with them - three best fighters are on the other side.

"Does Ariel have her backpack still?" Hoseok asks in a shout.

"I don't know, she has all our extra ammo in that bag so I hope to God she has it!"

But neither of you can continue your conversation. More shots ring around the halls, you ducking behind the next curve to avoid them. Taehyung is behind you and following your footsteps. His navigation is admirable, but you don't have time to praise him right now.

"Where the fuck do we go?!" Tae asks.

"I don't know, keep moving!" Hoseok replies, glancing at the several doors around the place. He tries opening some as he goes, but nothing budges. Locked locked and locked. Great, as if your hope isn't dwindling already, but those locked doors are making it dissipate completely.

You barge down the corridors with no plan and no exit. Then, you turn another corner, and this one is a dead end. You slam your body against the wall, as does Tae, all three of you grunting. Hoseok protects you, covering your rear as you kneel in front of him so he can shoot over you. Taehyung draws a pistol, him aiming it blindly. With a little bit of guidance, Hoseok is able to get Tae's aim on the curve of the corner. Where the enemy will come from.

The footsteps approach, many vibrations bouncing around the floors and up your legs. Your body quivers with your lower lip, the clamminess of your hands nearly causing the pistol to slip away from you. However, a loud 'bam' is what makes you go still. The same happens to Hoseok and Taehyung as more of the same sound echoes across the chamber.

What you can only describe as the sound of bodies slumping to the ground fills your ears, and seconds later, three figures round the corner. Jimin, Yoongi, and Ariel. 

"Yoons!" you say, running to him and hugging him right away. Yoongi is quick to hug back, panting into your ear. "Oh God, I was so worried."

He strokes your hair, sniffling as he buries his head into your shoulder. "Y/n, I've never felt that kind of fear before. I thought I lost you. I thought I was going to die without you in my arms and... I..."

"Shh, I'm here," you whisper, rubbing his back in what you hope is good comfort. "What happened?"

"Jimin and I got the upper hand on them."

"Hey asshole, gonna mention how I caused a distraction and that's how we got the jump on them?" Ariel asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

"And as you can tell, Ariel is the reason we're alive. Thank the mighty lord Jesus, I must suck God's dick now because our goddess Ariel has commanded me to. Goodbye, stream Gospel music at my funeral," Yoongi replies.

"That's better." Ariel beams, grinning while Jimin chuckles, sticking close to her.

"As amazing as this conversation is," you say, pulling away from the hug, "does anyone want to tell me what our plan is?"

"There's more on the way. We don't have much time, we're probably going to be boxed in. We'll need Tae to pick another lock," Hoseok says, Ariel sliding the same pin from before in Tae's hand. "Come on."

"Do we have enough time for that?" Yoongi asks as Hoseok guides them away.

"I don't know. It's pretty pointless if they see us unlocking a door and trying to hide inside, but it's the only option we have," Hoseok replies, finding the nearest door and guiding Tae to it. The man kneels and gets to work with his knife and Ariel's pin, Hoseok shaking his head. "It's risky. This may take a couple minutes."

Footsteps sound off, but these ones are distant. Before you can even speak, Jimin steps forward. "Ariel's distraction worked before. That sounds like a good plan."

"Sure, but how are we gonna distract them now?" you ask.

"Someone sneaks around and makes them follow him instead of this group. We rejoin later. Are there any marks on this door to differentiate it from the others?" Jimin asks. Taehyung, without even speaking, slashes the knife near the bottom corner of the door, creating a tick mark. "Okay, that works. Thanks Tae."

"Back up: when did this 'someone' become a 'him'?" Hoseok asks, narrowing his eyes.

"Since I said so. I'm the right hand still, right?" Jimin asks, motioning to you. You nod. "Then that him is me."

Right away, Ariel whips around. "Are you insane? There could be dozens of them and one of you. Tae, are you almost done?"

"Not even close."

"Shit."

Jimin pats the air as if that will calm the situation. "I'll be fine. I've certainly handled much worse, okay? I'll distract them and circle back here to enter, hopefully without drawing attention to myself."

"That's suicide and you know it," you say, stepping forward. But Jimin's determined eyes tell you all you need to know. Taehyung's still struggling with the lock, Ariel staring with a pleading expression. Unfortunately for the kid, this is a battle she's not winning. "You better come back to me Park Jimin."

Ariel, although enraged, allows you the moment you need. The moment doesn't last long, however, seeing as more footsteps come closer. "You know I will. I always do." He gives your hands a squeeze, shaking his head before backing off. "I love you."

You reach out to him, but he's gone before you can utter a word. "He'll be okay, right?" Ariel asks, the tears in her eyes causing you to kneel and grab her shoulders.

"If anyone can do this, it's Jimin. You trust him?"

"A little."

"A little's more than enough," you say, patting her shoulder as more gunshots go off. At her tremble, you take her towards the door. Taehyung's still maneuvering the knife and pin, trying to get it to budge. "Not to rush you, but Jimin can only stall so long. Where are we at?"

"Almost... there..." About twenty seconds later, Taehyung pops the door open, and the group of you slip inside unharmed. For now.

The room isn't a room at all, it's a new space. Literally. It's gigantic, larger than anything you've ever seen. It almost seems like a hangar from those sci fi movies, where the vicinity is spacious and has a large width and height. 

Taehyung locks the door behind you guys, propping anything he can get his hands on in front of the door. His senses are coming in handy here. Good, looks like you were wrong to say he might be a detriment to your team. Turns out he's the best part of it.

"Wait by the door for when Jimin comes back," you say, Taehyung agreeing and staying by the wall.

The remaining area is quite beautiful, really. Metal walls with the gray tones matching the somber mood inside you right now. Meanwhile there's crates around. Most likely crates of gold coins, maybe information. If you were to guess, this is their hub. Where they ship out all their materials. And if that's the case, then why is it unguarded...?

"Yoongi," you whisper, approaching the man while Hoseok investigates your surroundings. "I don't like this. Where are all the guards? This seems too important to leave unattended."

"Maybe hunting Jimin. Maybe those guards following us relocated from here to where our previous location was," Yoongi replies, you shrugging. Can't agree nor disagree. There's no clear answer. "Keep an eye out, and keep your pistol drawn. Ariel?"

The girl comes closer, fiddling with her fingers. "How long do we wait for Jimin?"

"As long as we can, sweetie. Do you have your backpack?" Yoongi asks. She shows it, Yoongi kneeling and opening it to grab a spare magazine for himself. "Why do you have Jimin's Dumbo plush in here? It's taking up a lot of room, kid."

"That plush is more important to me than any ammo ever could be," she mumbles, and Yoongi doesn't say anything to reply.

"Guys, we should move. I don't like this at all," Hoseok says, speaking your mind (thank God). "Let's get out of here, yeah? I don't want to be around when more bad guys appear from thin air. There's still some doors around here, we can probably find an exit. Yoongi, Tae, and I will investigate the left side. Y/n and Ariel stay by the door."

"What? Why are three of you going one way while the two of us are stuck over here?" you ask.

"Because someone needs to listen for Jimin, and Taehyung can't see the barricade he put up. It's better if someone who can see waits by the door. No offense, Tae."

"None taken."

"And I need Yoongi in case I get jumped. Again, no offense Tae, but I need someone who can see watching my back. Y/n, you love Jimin, as soon as you hear his voice you'll tear down the entire door."

"Fair."

"Are we in agreement?" No one raises their tone, meaning they agree to Hoseok's plan. You're proud of him for stepping up. He was a great right hand. Jimin's your favorite (although you're a bit biased), but Hoseok was a good right hand too. At this point, if you could make everyone in this group your right hand, you would.

The group of three go, Taehyung clinging to Hoseok while you and Ariel watch from the doorway. They go to the door only for it to slide open... slide upwards. What in the sci fi? You blink and stare at the way the door just moved, Hoseok glancing back at you only for you to completely brush him off. As if you know what the fuck that door does. Regardless, they enter, the door shutting behind them. Now it's time for the antagonizing wait.

You lean against the metal wall by the barricade Tae set up. It's a single crate, so it's not much of a barricade, but it's enough. Right as you're about to relax (or try to) and think about other things, Ariel shifts her gaze to you. "How did you make the decision between Jimin and Yoongi?"

"I didn't. I love them both, just in different ways. Yoongi is my lover, Jimin is my best friend. I wanted Yoongi to tell him the secret directly. It wouldn't mean as much if it came from a secondary source. Or fuck, a third source like Madam Avasa. Poor guy didn't deserve that. Or anything he's been through, for that matter." You pause, facing her. "You're all he has left, even over me. You know that, right?"

For a moment, she looks proud. "He's all I have left too."

You ruffle her hair, her chuckling and nudging your side. Ariel's a sweet kid, all things considered. She has every right to hate the world and try to burn it to the ground. But she doesn't. You admire that. That and her fire and adaptability. There's almost nothing she can't learn quickly, and she can adapt to each environment she's in just as fast as the adults. Maybe that's her mafia childhood showing, or maybe it's a talent of hers. Probably both.

There's a certain eeriness in the air that weighs down on your head more by the second. It's like there's an invisible foe waltzing before your very eyes. But again, it's an invisible foe. Madam Avasa, perhaps? Is she lurking somewhere around here? Somewhere in the shadows, waiting for-

"Y/n!"

You sprint to where the door is, motioning to Ariel to stay where she is. You stop in front of the door, listening to Yoongi pound on the metal. "Yoongi?! What's going on, what's wrong baby?"

"I don't know! The door won't budge, we have company in here! They shot the door controls, can you open it on your side?!"

Upon seeing no controls on this side of the door, you grunt, the metallic taste of terror swelling on your taste buds. You rub it around your tongue a few times before swallowing, but the sensation still lingers in your mouth. "I can't, there's no controls. Fuck, what do we do?"

"Listen to me- agh!" A gunshot bounces against the door, but it doesn't poke through because of the metal. Regardless, you still see the dent. "I'm okay! It was a ricochet. Listen to me angel, there should be another door at the back of your area, go there and meet us wherever you can. We need to run before we're killed, got it?"

"I got it. Stay safe, please Yoons!"

The most devastating part of the encounter is that he doesn't reply, leaving you alone in your own shadow. "We can't leave Jimin!" Ariel yells from her post, you going back over to her.

"We don't have a choice. He'll come to us, okay?"

"We have the door locked!"

"Jimin will find a way, he always does. If we stay here, those men hunting our friends will succeed and kill them. Do you want Hoseok, Yoongi, and Tae to die?"

"I'm sorry, I know it sounds selfish, but I'd rather wait for Jimin."

"Ariel, come on kid, Jimin would want you to run. You and I both know that," you whisper, placing your hands on her shoulders like you've seen Jimin do. But to her, it's not the same, and she backs away. "Ariel..."

"I'm fine where I am. I'm waiting for Jimin. You can leave without me, I don't care." When you go to speak, she holds up her hand. "You can go do what you want. I won't stop you. Your opinion is your opinion, and mine is mine. Isn't your whole purpose for being here saving kids and giving them their own choices?" You can't bring yourself to reply to that. "If that really means anything to you, then let me make my choice now."

There's a hush for a beat too long. "Okay," you murmur, slipping away from her. However, fate seems to have other plans. Right as you're about to leave to rush through the endless rows of crates ahead of you, there's a bang on the door, Ariel grabbing the crate and preparing to move it away. And that's when your heart drops.

"Guys! We have a problem!" Jimin shouts from the other side of the door.

You hold your breath, time halting like your body. But you have to speak, Ariel's too frightened to, so it's on you. "What problem?" you ask, praying your voice is loud enough. In the two second tick it takes Jimin to reply, you believe your voice was too weak. Then, he says words you never want to hear.

"She's here! Madam Avasa is here!"